Opus Archives and Research Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770225564
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8059695750
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$839,125
Expenses
$164,813
Assets
$956,108
Liabilities
$213,114

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Steve Aizenstat (President)
  • Randal Lea (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Steve Aizenstat (President)
  • Jamie Mayo (Secretary)
  • Maren Hansen (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Acquisition, conservation, preservation and display of a collection of books, writings and artifacts donated to the center which is organized as a library and archive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Acquisition, conservation, preservation and display of a collection of books, writings and artifacts donated to the center, which is organized as a library and archives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 15.4%; rating input score 15
  • Program expense ratio: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $707.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 80.4%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.8; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 15.4% of revenue deployed · 65% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $107K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.